The hurricane landed in Florida on Friday night and the rains arrived in North Carolina some hours after that cancelling all track events at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday which included practice and qualifying for the Cup Series and the Bank of America 400 on Sunday.
After years of running the race on the roval, NASCAR has returned to the 1.5 mile oval at Charlote.
The 39 car field has been set by the NASCAR metric – 70% position from last race and 30% car owner points – putting Kyle Larson on the pole with Chase Briscoe alongside on the front row.
Cole Custer failed the inspection process twice and will lose his car chief for the weekend and will have his pit stall assigned by NASCAR, but will not lose his starting spot in the lineup.
Cole Custer and Austin Cindric have confirm that they will be returning next season after signing contract extensions.
The starting lineup for the Bank of America 400:
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Chase Elliott
Shane van Gisbergen
Carson Hocevar
Denny Hamlin
Chris Buescher
TY Gibbs
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Michael McDowell
Austin Dillon
Riley Herbst
Brad Keselowski
Noah Gragson
Ryan Preece
Austin Hill
Josh Berry
Ross Chastain
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Todd Gilliland
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Zane Smith
Cody Ware
Connor Zilisch
Corey Heim
Gray Gaulding
BJ McLeod
Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, and stage three is 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the 1.5 mile track.
There is no power in the 45 team’s pit box. Tyler Reddick is “on his own” until the issue is remedied.
The rains have. Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Chase Briscoe alongside. Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe are side by side most of the first lap before Larson takes the lead.
NASCAR has planned for a competition caution on or around lap 35.
Lap three, the top five are Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric.
Lap five, the drivers are running near record lap times.
Lap six, Tyler Reddick passes Chase Briscoe for second.
Lap nine, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 12, Chase Briscoe reports that his car is bottoming out in the bumps.
Kyle Larson holds a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 15, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick.
Kyle Larson has led at least one lap in every Charlotte Motor Speedway start. He has led every lap so far of today’s race so far.
Lap 20, Kyle Larsson has a second and a half lead on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 25, Kyle Larson’s lead is now under one second on Tyler Reddick; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and William Byron round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney and William Byron continue their battle for fifth.
Ryan Blaney reports that the balance is not quite right in his car.
Lap 31, Kyle Larson has a lead of over a second and a half on Tyler Reddick.
Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric battle for second with Cindric taking the spot.
Lap 35, Leader Kyle Larson has begun lapping slower traffic.
Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson battle for the lead.
NASCAR throws the caution flag on lap 36 with Kyle Larson in the lead. The teams can check tire wear, make adjustments, and service the cars.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.
Ryan Blaney was caught speeding on pit road.
Denny Hamlin was charged with a safety violation.
Chase Elliott had to make a second trip down pit road for a loose lug nut
John Hunter Nemechek is the “lucky dog”.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Cindric alongside on lap 41. Drivers are spread out three and four wide.
Ty Gibbs brings out the caution flag on lap 42 when he gets into the wall hard and collects Brad Keselowski. Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano were a part of an on track battle that resulted in a stackup when Reddick reported that the car just “took off”. Gibbs started falling through the field before getting into the wall. Logano dropped through the field.
Ty Gibbs was caught speeding on pit road and will restart the race from the back of the field.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chase Briscoe alongside on lap 47.Briscoe battles with Larson for the lead. Drivers are three wide through the field.
Bubba Wallace takes the lead on lap 48.
Lap 49, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, and Alex Bowman.
Lap 53, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Alex Bowman, and Daniel Suarez round out the top five.
Lap 57, Bubba Wallace’s lead is down to just a quarter of a second on Kyle Larson; Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap 59, Kyle Larson passes Bubba Wallace to retake the lead.
Lap 60, Chase Briscoe passes Bubba Wallace for second.
Just elven laps remain in stage one, Kyle Larson has a one second lead on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Austin Cindric passes Alex Bowman for fifth.
Five to go in stage one; Kyle Larson’s lead is now just a half a second on Chase Brisscoe; Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
With just three laps remaining in stage one, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and William Byron get into a big crash to end stage one. The crash has left a massive debris field.
Alex Bowman got loose in a battle for fifth with Bubba Wallace and slammed into Bubba. Both drivers get into the wall. Bowman gets into William Byron. Wallace came across the track and hit the other wall. Both hits were hard.
Bubba walked to the ambulance after getting help exiting the car.
Kyle Larson wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Chase Briscoe
Christopher Bell
Austin Cindric
Tyler Reddick
Daniel Suarez
Corey Heim
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road. Chase Briscoe comes out second.
Austin Dillon was caught speeding on pit road.
Chris Buescher was charged with pitting outside of his pit box.
Gray Gaulding was charged with speeding on pit road.
Austin Hill was also charged with a penalty.
All drivers will restart the race from the back of the field.
Out of the care center, Alex Bowman said that he takes responsibility for the crash; adding he was tight and all of a sudden got loose and over compensated.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Chase Briscoe alongside on lap 87. Drivers are getting four wide back in the field. Kyle Larson takes the lead with Chase Briscoe in second; Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 90, Christopher Bell passes Chase Briscoe for second.
Bubba Wallace said that he had no warning; adding no rough feelings, it was just racing. He said that he is fine.
Lap 95, Kyle Larson has a near one second lead on Chase Briscoe; Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 97, Denny Hamlin has worked his way to just outside the top five in sixth.
Lap 100, Christohper Bell passes Chase Briscoe for second.
Lap 101, Austin Cindric passes Chase Briscoe for third.
The drivers can run around 70 laps on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop during stages two and three.
Lap 105, the top five are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Briscoe.
Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin make contact in their battle for sixth.
Christopher Bell passes Kyle Larson for the lead.
Lap 113, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a near one second lead on Kyle Larson; Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 118 when John Hunter Nemechek spins out and makes a run through the grass. Other than a flat tire, he reports no major damage.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christpher Bell winning the race off of pit road; Kyle Larson comes out second.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 123. Bell jumps out for the lead. Drivers are three and four wide through the field.
Denny Hamlin is banging his way through the field and is now in third place.
Lap 124, the top five are Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Carson Hocevar. Kyle Larson has dropped to seventh.
There are 33 cars on the lead lap with three drivers out of the race.
Lap 129, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second and a half on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.
Lap 135, Christopher Bell holds a lead of over a second and a half on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
With 23 laps remaining in stage two, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a near two and a half second lead on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Racing milestones for today: Tyler Reddick is making Cur Series start number 250 and Joey Logano is making race start number 500 with Team Penske!
Ryan Blaney has some debris on his grille.
Lap 158, Kyle Larson passes Tyler Reddick for fourth.
Christopher Bell has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Ryan Blaney.
Christopher Bell wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Austin Cindric
Chase Briscoe
Josh Berry
Chase Elliott
Carson Hocevar
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road; followed by Kyle Larson.
Chase Elliott was caught speeding on pit road.
John Hunter Nemechek was charged with pitting too soon and having too many crew members over the wall.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Kyle Larson alongside on lap 173. Blaney jumps out in front but Kyle Larson comes up on the outside and Christopher Bell drops to the inside and blasts his way to the front to retake the lead.
The top five are Christopher bell, Chasse Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Austin Cindric.
Lap 178, Christopher Bell has a half second lead on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Reports from pit road are that some tires were beginning to show signs of cording.
Lap 183, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a one second lead on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 188, Christopher Bell continues to extend his lead and is now a second and a half out in front of Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 197, Christopher Bell holds a second and a half lead on Chase Briscoe; Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Lap 199, Chase Briscoe has closed the gap on leader Christpher Bell to just over a second.
Lap 201, Christopher Bell’s lead is now down to under one second on Chase Briscoe.
Gray Gaulding brings out the caution flag on alp 206 when he spins out and gets into the wall. He reports over the radio “we’re done”. Tyler Reddick has a loose car and was working to save the car when Gaulding got in to the wall.
Drivers come down pit road with 60 laps remaining in the race. Chase Briscoe wins the race off of pit road. Ryan Blaney had a slow stop and lost five spots.
Chase Briscoe brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 211. Getting a push from Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe takes the lead as the drivers get three wide.
The top five are Chasse Briscoe, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson.
Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell battle back and forth for second.
There are 32 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 215, Christopher Bell has gotten around Denny Hamlin and is working to get back out in front for the lead. Bell is less than half a second back.
Lap 223, Chase Briscoe has a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Kenny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Teammates Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen are battling each other for eighth.
Corey Heim gets into the wall but the track stays green.
Just 37 laps to go, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney battle for fifth.
Christopher Bell is now over a half second behind Chase Briscoe.
Ryan Blaney has gotten around Tyler Reddick for fifth.
With 28 laps to go, Chase Briscoe has a one second lead on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.
Just 25 laps to go, Christopher Bell is falling away from the leader and is now over two seconds behind Chase Briscoe.
Just 22 laps to go, Chase Briscoe has a near three second lead on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five with 29 cars on the lead lap.
Twenty to go, Ryan Blaney has passed Kyle Larson for fourth.
With 15 laps to go, Ryan Blaney is running the fastest laps on the track.
Drivers are beginning to loose control of the cars – they are getting very loose.
Ten to go, Chase Briscoe ahs a two second lead on Christopher Bell.
Nine to go, Ryan Blaney passes Denny Hamlin for third.
With just eight laps to go, Chase Briscoe has encountered slower traffic.
Three to go, Chase Briscoe has a lead of just over a second on Christopher Bell. Leaders encounter slower traffic.
Chase Briscoe takes the white flag with Christopher Bell less than half a second behind.
Chase Briscoe edges out by a nose to win the race for back to back wins in the closest win ever at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The unofficial results of the Bank of America 400:
Chase Briscoe
Christopher Bell
Ryan Blaney
Josh Berry
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Shane van Gisbergen
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Chris Buescher
Corey Heim
Chase Elliott
Daniel Suarez
Carson Hocevar
Ryan Preece
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
Riley Herbst
Michael McDowell
Zane Smith
Connor Zilisch
Todd Gilliland
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Austin Dillon
Cole Custer
AJ Allmendinger
Brad Keselowski
Ty Dillon
Cody Ware
Austin Hill
BJ McLeod
Ty Gibbs
John Hunter Nemechek
Gray Gaulding
Bubba Wallace
Alex Bowman
William Byron